The history of the Mexican League dates back to 1925, when it was started by a sportswriter and a former baseball player. It started out with 6 teams before growing into a 16 team league with north and south divisions. There have been as many as 6 different Mexican Leagues, including the one we see how a days which is considered AAA level. Going over some material, I became interested in the reasons why playing in the Mexican League in the 1940s was frowned upon if you were a major league player. Many contemporary veteran MLB players go to play in Mexico when they have a hard time catching on with a major league team. Why is it ok now, but against the rules of Major League Baseball in the 1940s? In the mid 1940s, there was a shortage of baseball players with most players either enlisting in the military themselves or being drafted into a branch of the service. With so few star players playing during the height of World War II, the league went to all different lengths to find players to play during this time. Many players that would be playing in the minor leagues were playing in the majors. Some players that may have otherwise retired stayed around to play in 1943-1945. Because of this, team owners started cutting the salaries of the players they had, believing that they were not the same quality of player that was participating in the war. When the players returned, there were two major problems. Number one, many players who had proven that they could play at the elite level were out of the major leagues. There was all the sudden an overage of MLB players. And most importantly, the owners did not budge on the thought of paying the returning players from the war anything close to what they were making before they left for war. So, you risk your life fighting for your country for years, in a lot of cases, and your cheap employer cannot even pay you what you were making before you left. This was the time when Jorge Pascual thought he was gonna push to make the Mexican League a major league. He started to recruit top Negro Leagues players such as Josh Gibson, as well as a lot of the Cuban born ballplayers who played in the major leagues while the others were away for the war. He would then bring in as many as 23 MLB players, talking them away from their MLB teams and paying them likely more money than they were to make in the states. Once MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler got news of this, he declared that any player who leaves his MLB team to play in this "outlaw" Mexican League will be forever banned from playing Major League Baseball. Now that I understand how the Mexican League went from having an independent history to being considered an outlaw league, how about some of the players who decided to "jump" to this semi-major league? The player who generated the most controversy by going to the Mexican League was former Giants OF Danny Gardella. A couple years later, when he wanted to return to MLB, Commissioner Chandler made it clear he was not going to be allowed back. Because of this, Gardella thought it would be a good idea to challenge the reserve clause the game has had since its infancy. Gardella was the property of the Giants and Chandler had decided that all players that jumped to this rival league would be blackballed. Stuck without a job, Gardella sued MLB and the Giants for $300,000 in damages. Within this, it was the first time a player sued the league on the grounds of the reserve clause. After he originally lost his suit in the Supreme Court, but in the Second Court of Appeals, was given a completely new trial. Chandler was concerned that he may lose this case, so he decided to allow all players who had gone to the Mexican League the chance to return. And Gardella, facing a long, hard road and a lot of legal fees, decided to drop his lawsuit. Gardella would sign with the St Louis Cardinals, where he would get just 1 at bat in the big leagues. Catcher Mickey Owen, known for his passed ball in the 1941 World Series, was another prolific MLB player to "jump" to Mexico. According to baseball reference, he played for Veracruz in 1946, not playing baseball professionally until he was signed by the Chicago Cubs for the 1949 season. Sal "The Barber" Maglie started his career with the New York Giants in 1945. He "jumped" to the Puebla Angeles where he spent 1946 and 1947 and ended up playing for the Drummondville Cubs of the Provincial League in 1949. He rejoined the Giants for the 1950 season and would spent the next 9 seasons in the big leagues, winning a World Series Championship in 1954. Max Lanier, father of former Houston Astros manager Hal Lanier, left the 1946 eventual World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals to pitch for Veracruz for the 1946 and 1947 before landing in Drummondville for the 1949 season. Lanier rejoined the Cardinals in 1949 and pitched in MLB through the 1953 season. Alex Carrasquel, uncle of All Star SS Chico Carrasquel, pitched for the Washington Senators from 1939-1945. He left to pitch for Veracruz in 1946 before going to Mexico City from 1946-1947 and Monterrey from 1947-1948. Like many other players who played in the Mexican League from 1946-1948, Carrasquel pitched in the Provincial League in 1949- for the St Jean Braves. He would pitch for the Chicago White Sox in 1953, but for only 3 games. Contrary to most other MLB players who went to Mexico, Carrasquel returned to pitch in the country for another 4 seasons. Commissioner Chandler insisted during this time to make it difficult for any player to return to MLB after "jumping" to Mexico. Pascual made it very lucrative for these players, in some cases offering more than twice what they would be making in MLB. In most cases, these players were returning from war, so the amount of money they were getting paid to play baseball was even more important. The Commissioner was not a help in this situation and I think it was a shame that these owners would not budge on the amount of money they were willing to pay. I don't blame these players for going to a place where they would be better compensated. Mostly because of the Gardella suit, Chandler finally allowed these players to play in the major leagues again, where they should have been all along. Owen was the first to feel the brunt of Chandler's cluelessness, when he tried to return to MLB in that same season of 1946. I understand the Commissioner doing what he feels represents the best interest of the game. It doesn't mean I feel what he did was right. Who is he to say another employer cannot outbid players for the right of their service? Was Chandler the one who was insisting the players make as little as they were? I know he worked for the owners, but it kind of is embarrassing when players in the Pacific Coast League were making just as much as major league baseball players. I understand why every player that went to Mexico did. What I do not understand is why more didn't go. On another note, the best player to ever play in the Mexican League was Hector Espino. He was arguably one of the best to ever play. His career spanned from 1960-1984 and he hit somewhere between 755 and 796 career home runs. Among the top Mexican born MLB players are Fernando Valenzuela, Bobby Avila, Teddy Higuera, Aurelio Rodriguez, Aurelio Lopez, Vinny Castilla and Yovani Gallardo.

Former Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Hugh Casey would be 101 today, however, he took his own life at the age of 37 in 1951, over 63 years ago. Casey was one of the few Dodgers that were on both the 1941 and 1947 NL Pennant winning teams and was certainly one of the more dominant relief pitchers of the 1940s. Casey will forever be known as the pitcher in the 9th inning of game 4 of the 1941 World Series that threw the pitch in the dirt that allowed Yankees OF Tommy Henrich to reach first base. Henrich had swung and missed, which should have ended the game, but catcher Mickey Owen was unable to hold onto the ball and Henrich reached first base to keep the inning alive. At the time, the Dodgers were holding on to a 4-3 lead and there was two outs and nobody on. Casey was unraveled and by the time the Yankees were done batting, they had scored 4 times- all with two outs. Casey was born in Atlanta, GA and originally starting playing professional baseball for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association. He was taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Chicago Cubs in 1931 and would make his MLB debut for the Cubs in 1935. After three more seasons in the minor leagues, Casey was taken in the Rule 5 Draft again, this time by the Brooklyn Dodgers. The 1939 Dodgers had a 33 year old first year manager by the name of Leo Durocher. Durocher was also the team's starting SS, though it would be the last season he would be a regular player. Durocher found something he liked in this hard thrower, who stood at 6'1 and weighed over 200 pounds, tall and imposing for a pitcher of his time. Though a handful of other Dodgers pitchers were around 6 feet tall, none weighed over 200 pounds. His first season in Brooklyn he was used mostly as a starting pitcher. Casey would go 15-10, 2.93 in 40 games, 25 as a starter and 15 complete games over 227+ IP. A year later, he appeared in more games as a reliever, pitching in 44 games with just 10 starts. Casey went 11-8, 3.62 and gave up less hits per 9 IP, 7.9, than in the previous season, 9.0. The Dodgers would win the 1941 NL Pennant, one in which Casey had a lot to do with. Durocher would use Casey as a starting pitcher for a stretch during the season because of injuries to pitchers Freddie Fitzsimmons, Curt Davis and Luke Hamlin. By the end of the season, Casey had regained his role as the team's go to reliever and finished with a 14-11, 3.89, 7 saves in 45 games, 18 as a starter. Casey took a loss in game 3 of the World Series to the Yankees, giving up 2 runs in the top of the 8th in a 2-1 loss. Losing two games in the World Series always looks bad for a pitcher, however, Casey was charged with just 2 earned runs in the process. The passed ball by Owen allowed for the 4 runs allowed in game 4 to be all unearned. Prior to 1942, Casey was known to have had a boxing match with celebrated writer Earnest Hemmingway in Cuba- one in which the Dodgers pitcher beat Hemmingway up pretty bad. It took place at Hemmingway's house and because of the fact that many items were broken which, along with Hemmingway's injuries, led to his friendly relations with the Dodgers players to simmer. But it was 1942 where Casey had his breakout season as a reliever, getting 13 saves and finishing at 6-3. 2.25 in 50 games, 2 starts for the Dodgers. After the season, Casey enlisted in the Navy and would not return to the major leagues until the 1946 season- missing 3 full MLB seasons. It seemed as if the time off did not impact Casey, as 1946 was his best season. He was 11-5, 1.99, 5 saves in 46 games, while making his lone start the final one of his big league career on July 15th. He recorded just one out and gave up 4 hits and 2 runs while taking the loss in a 10-4 defeat to the eventual National League Champion Cardinals. The following season, Casey went 10-4 and led the NL with 18 saves as the Dodgers won the NL Pennant. Of course, that was the season in which Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and the one in which Durocher was suspended for the entire season for his association with gamblers. Casey was very good in the World Series, going 2-0 with a save while pitching in 6 games and giving up just a run in 10+ innings. Unfortunately, Casey was not the same in 1948. He pitched to a 8.00 ERA and was released by the Dodgers at the end of September. He joined the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1948 season and pitched a little better, a 4.66 ERA in 33 games out of the pen. However, a last place team looking to get younger had no place for a 35 year old reliever who was not lights out. He was released on August 10th and signed with the New York Yankees- his rivals in the 1941 and 1947 World Series. He appeared in 4 games in the regular season but did not pitch in the World Series; one which was once again a victory for the Yankees over the Dodgers. Casey finally received his World Series ring as a member of the Yankees. Casey could not find a MLB team to offer him a contract for the 1950 season. So he returned to his roots, signing to play for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association, where he started his professional career. He went 10-4 as the team won the Pennant. However, Casey did not play professional baseball in 1951. Some players are unable to cope with life without baseball and Casey was one of them. He was going through a divorce and in the process was being accused as the father of a child in a paternity suit. On July 3, 1951, he was in his Atlanta hotel room speaking with his estranged wife when he shot himself in his neck, ending his life at the age of 37. He died in Atlanta, where he was born and where he started and finished his professional baseball career.

In the entire history of Major League Baseball, there have been several players, and umpires, who have had to deal with the results of one particular play for the rest of their baseball career and subsequent lives. Mickey Owen, Bill Buckner, Don Denkinger, Leon Durham and Donnie Moore are just some of those who have had to deal with such fate. Two members of the early 1900s New York Giants, Fred Merkle and Fred Snodgrass, had to deal with particular plays that hung with them for the rest of their lives. Fred Merkle made a base running blunder in what should have been the deciding game of the regular season in 1908. Just 19 at the time, Merkle singled to put runners on first and third in the bottom of the 9th against the Cubs. After the next batter singled to allow what was the winning run to score, Cubs 2B Johnny Evers appealed the play at second base knowing Merkle did not touch the base. There is a rule that requires all base runners who are forced into a base to arrive at the next base even if the result of the play ends the game. The fact that Merkle did not touch second allowed Evers to retrieve a ball and umpire Hank O'Day (HOF 2013) called him out. The home New York fans had run onto the field and there was no way to restore conditions to continue the game. In addition, darkness had set which forced the umpire to declare the game a tie. Because of the tie, the Giants and Cubs finished the season with an identical record. Had the Giants won the game in question, the Giants would have won the 1908 NL Pennant. Instead, they had to play a makeup game of the one that was scored a tie. The Cubs won the game and therefore, the Pennant and eventual World Series (over the Detroit Tigers). Snodgrass was blamed for the 1912 World Series which went a total of 8 games against the AL Champion Boston Red Sox. The series, scheduled for 7 games, went to a deciding 8th game as one of the games was declared a tie due to darkness. The Giants had a 1 run lead in the bottom of the 10th inning and Snodgrass dropped a routine fly ball which put the tying run on second base. The Red Sox took advantage of the opportunity though the game would have been tied already if not for a great diving catch by Snodgrass on the very next batter of the game. The Red Sox scored two runs in the inning and won the World Series on a walk-off. It was this play that followed Fred Snodgrass for the rest of his life. His obituary in the New York Times said something along the lines, Fred Snodgrass dead, dropped fly ball in the World Series. He was a successful banker and politician in California and managed to live 86 years. Clearly a success story, he is the prime example of how one moment can define one's entire life. What happened on this date 103 years ago could be defined as a precursor to what would haunt Snodgrass for the rest of his life. The Giants were holding onto a 1 run lead with 2 outs in the 9th inning and two Dodgers runners on. The Giants, who had a 1 1/2 game lead over the Cubs coming into the day's action, were holding onto a 3-2 when Jake Daubert hit a fly ball to Snodgrass which he dropped allowing the tying and winning runs to score and to steal the game for the Dodgers. Because the Cubs won both games of their double header, the Giants would fall into a virtual tie with the Cubs for 1st place in the NL. Of course, the Giants would end up winning the NL by 7 1/2 games over the Cubs so- unlike 1912- Snodgrass' dropped fly ball cost them only the game. The usually fleet footed outfielder would play in three World Series for the Giants (1911-1913) including the one which included his infamous play. He spent parts of 9 seasons in the big leagues, with all but his last year and two months with the Giants. When he was released by the Giants in 1915, he was picked up by the defending World Series Champion Boston Braves. Of course, fans in Boston still remember the ball he dropped in the 1912 World Series. Because of that, he got a lot of support and it seemed to make a difference. Though he hit just .194 for the 1915 Giants, he would hit .278 in 23 games to finish the season. Ironically, just a year earlier- 1914- the Giants were playing a game against the Braves. When Snodgrass was hit by a pitch, he made a gesture to the Braves pitcher. The Braves pitcher mocked out Snodgrass for dropping the fly ball by imitating the play. When Snodgrass returned to the field, the Boston fans were nearing a riot with their actions causing Giants manager John McGraw to remove Snodgrass from the game for his safety. After he hit .249 for the Braves the next season, the Braves released him. He signed with the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League and hit .277 for the season. Though he had something left and was not yet 30, Snodgrass chose to retire from baseball after the 1917 season. He would pass away in 1974, over 61 years after the infamous "Muff."

Former New York Giants OF Fred Snodgrass passed away on this date (April 5th) in 1974 at age 86. He of course, was known for dropping the routine fly ball in the deciding game of the 1912 World Series against the Red Sox. The runner that reached base scored to tie the game as the Red Sox ended up taking victory away from the hands of defeat. 1912 was 74 years before 1986, where Bill Buckner misplayed a ground ball through his legs, allowing the Mets to win game 6 of the World Series. Things were different in 1912. There was no such thing as the "Bambino Curse". The Red Sox win in the 1912 World Series was their second, as they became the third team (Cubs and Athletics) to win a second World Series title. The Red Sox would win three more titles, in 1915, 1916 and 1918 before going on the historic drought. The Giants won the second ever World Series in 1905 (after they refused to play in the 1904 fall classic), but were beaten in 1911-1913, including in the famous "Snodgrass muff" Series. Many things can be compared when discussing these two unfortunate incidents. The amount of years that had gone by since the Red Sox won the World Series was as responsible for Buckner's tough times afterwards as the error itself. After 1912, the Giants would win the World Series in 1921 and 1922. While Snodgrass was no longer playing, having been released by the Giants in 1915 and hanging it up after playing for the Boston Braves in 1916, he got to see his former team win a WS within a reasonable time. Furthermore, the Giants had won a World Series title eight years prior 1912. The Red Sox in 1986 had waited 68 years since their last title and would wait another 18 before finally capturing the title in 2004. Perhaps comparing the two events is unfair. Truthfully, Buckner's error came with the score tied in the bottom of the 10th inning. Snodgrass's error allowed the tying run to reach base in the deciding game of the World Series. The good thing about it is that both players have been vindicated when their respective teams won the World Series. Mickey Owen, the Brooklyn Dodgers catcher that dropped Tommy Henrich's swinging strike three against Hugh Casey in 1941, was similar in the fact that his gaff perhaps cost the Dodgers a chance to win the World Series that season. The passed ball happened in game 4 of the series the Yankees would take in five games. Snodgrass' 1912 teammate, Fred Merkle, had to live with his mistake the rest of his playing career though he managed to play in 5 World Series with the Giants, Robins and Cubs. Merkle reportedly cost the Giants the 1908 NL Pennant by failing to touch second base before scoring a crucial run. Leon Durham's missed ground ball in 1984 led to the Padres rallying from a 2-0 series deficit to get to the World Series. In a very controversial call in 2005, White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski reached first base on a passed ball by Angels catcher Josh Paul. That happened as Pierzynski struck out for what was to be the third out of the bottom of the 9th inning of game 2 of the ALCS with the score tied 1-1. Though the Angels won in 2002, neither Durham or Paul can say "at least their teams won a World Series later on".

I find it fascinating that few bring up the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers when talking about the series of Dodgers teams that lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Dodgers won the NL Pennant in 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1956, losing to the Yankees in 5 of the 6 World Series. When those Dodgers teams are talked about, much is said about Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider and Roy Campanella. None of those players were on the 1941 team, with only Robinson having an impact on the 1947 team. Of course, teams change throughout every successful run. The 1991 Atlanta Braves looked nothing like the 2005 team that won the Division Title. But the Dodgers teams were considered a unit, with Carl Furillo, Ralph Branca, Carl Erskine and Clem Labine among the players that are frequently referenced as well as Snider, Hodges, Robinson, Campanella and others. While the 1947 team bears little reference to the later teams, the 1941 team is a story that is seldom told. The team at this point had struggled for several seasons. The last time the team won a NL Pennant was 1920, when the team referred to itself as the Robins; named after longtime manager Wilmer Robinson (managed from 1914-1931). The franchise had some good seasons after that, winning 92 games in 1924 and having consecutive winning seasons in 1939 and 1940 under new player/ manager Leo Durocher. 1941 was significant because of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak and Ted Williams' .406 batting average. It was also significant because it was the last year of baseball as it was known then, as many players would enlist in the military after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 12/7/1941. Mickey Owen is the most prominent name associated with the 1941 Series. It was Owen who dropped Tommy Henrich's swinging strike three that would have won game four of the Series for the Dodgers. Hugh Casey's pitch was missed by Owen, allowing Henrich to reach base when it should have been the third out. The result of the World Series was not good as the Dodgers lost in 5 games, including game 4 (7-4). The Dodgers were led by OFs Pete Reiser (.309, 5, 46 in 1941) and well known racist Dixie Walker (.306, 9, 94). Walker was known as the one who was circulating the petition to keep Robinson from joining the team in 1947. Among regular players, only Reiser, Walker and Pee Wee Reese, played on both the 1941 and 1947 team. Reese, at age 22, hit just .229, 2, 46 playing in his second season. Only Casey was part of both pitching staffs, going 14-11, 3.89 in 45 games, 18 starts in 1941. Kirby Higbe went 22-9, 3.14 in 48 games, 39 starts in 1941. He was traded in 1947 after 4 games, 3 starts to the Pirates with four others for Al Gionfriddo. Whit Wyatt went 22-10, 2.34 in 1941, with veteran Freddy Fitzsimmons going 6-1, 2.07 in 13 games, 12 starts. He had won 16 games for Brooklyn in 1940 and his career spanned all the way back to 1925 with the Giants. Van Mungo, known more for being part of a song in his name, made 2 appearances on that team after being one of the top pitchers with the Dodgers in the early 1930s (starting in 1931). Durocher, who came up as a 19 year old for the 1925 Yankees, had 42 ABs that season. He would not play in 1942, batting 18 times in 1943 and 5 in 1945. Hall of Famer Paul Waner made a brief appearance on the 1941 team and was released May 11th that season. As far as the face of the team, Dolph Camilli hit .285, 34, 120 for that team and was only the NL MVP. 1937 NL MVP Joe "Ducky" Medwick had his best season for the Dodgers, after coming over from St Louis the year before, hitting .318, 18, 88. 3B Cookie Lavagetto hit .277, 1, 78 and was 18-69 on the 1947 team. Owen hit .231, 1, 48 and 2B Billy Herman rounded off the regular team, hitting .291, 3, 41. The Yankees continued to win, taking the AL Pennant in 1942 and beating the Cardinals in the 1943 WS. The Dodgers remained good as well winning 104 games in the 1942 season, losing out to the Cardinals who won 106. The veteran Brooklyn team stuck around for a couple more seasons with youngsters like Bruce Edwards (.295, 9, 80 in 1947), Robinson and Furillo all contributing by 1947. Hodges and Snider made their debut in 1947 after serving in the millitary (Hodges had 2 AB in 1943). It was the 1941 team that started the ball rolling for the Dodgers teams of the late 1940s, 1950s and even 1960s. All the talk around then was about how all the good players and top amateur players wanted to play for the Yankees. All of the sudden, top players, particularly African American players wanted to play in NY, but for the Dodgers.